Danny Robertshaw and Ron Danta's life has revolved around horses, boats, a Hollywood turn, and, oh … 150 canine roommates.
Illustration by Debi Fitzgerald
Boats drifting lazily through the water on any given afternoon in Lake Wellington, Florida, with the odd four-legged friend onboard is not an unusual sight. At least that is until a certain Qwest pontoon comes into view.
If you’re lucky enough to catch sight of Rescue Me, you’ll likely see the breeze stirring the fur on up to a dozen or more contented pups,
faces turned into the wind, 24 ears flapping happily. At the helm will be Danny Robertshaw and Ron Danta, life partners, lifelong equestrians, recent documentary stars, and the undisputed captains of one of America’s most remarkable dog-rescue stories.
What began as a compassionate response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has turned into a full-time mission that has found homes for 15,000-plus dogs. While Danny and Ron’s days are still steeped in the bread-and-butter world of horse training and competitions, it’s their dog rescue that has come to define every waking, and arguably sleeping, hour of their lives, not to mention their home. Because, yes, every dog they rescue lives with them. In their actual house.
“We are still operating at home,” Ron says of their permanent residence in Camden, South Carolina. “We have 150 dogs in the house now, as opposed to what it was before the documentary.” That documentary, “Life in the Doghouse,” made in 2018 about their rescue, now boasts a staggering 99% on the popcorn meter for watchable movies on review website Rotten Tomatoes.
It might sound impossible, given the numbers, but the pair has created a haven where the dogs can roam freely, rehabilitate, and where a handful of lucky (or unlucky due to particular issues) pups also sleep in bed with them. Granted, it doesn’t make for the most peaceful of nights.
“That’s the way we can rehabilitate all these scared dogs,” explains Ron. “We now have 33 staff members, and there are people at the house 24/7, and they can walk into the bedroom at night to do eyedrops and meds.”
While the pair’s rescue was already well known in equestrian circles before the documentary, their story, captured beautifully in “Life in the Doghouse,” has now resonated around the world to the tune of close to 4 million views.
The film came about when director Ron Davis was looking for a dog to rescue and ended up at Danny and Ron’s door saying he was open to adopting any dog except a chihuahua. He left with more than he bargained for: a plan for his next movie and, of course, a chihuahua.
Since its release, “Life in the Doghouse” has inspired donations from 53 countries; adoptions in Sweden, England, Germany, Poland, Canada, and beyond; and helped launch a four-book children’s series for Simon & Schuster, and a full-length memoir, “Forever Home,” from HarperCollins.
“Life in the Doghouse” is a gentle, family-friendly movie that captures the obvious happiness of the dogs going about their business, and the sheer dedication and work involved for Danny, Ron, and their now extensive team.
Not that it’s always been an easy personal journey for either. The movie also revealed painful human-sized truths and got the couple to open up in ways they hadn’t articulated before, even to each other.
“We almost hated him [the director] at different times because he made us say stuff that we hadn’t said,” says Danny of Davis, who is now a firm friend. “It made us aware of what we were holding in.”
Danny Robertshaw (left) and Ron Danta have found homes for more than 15,000 dogs since they started their rescue efforts two decades ago. Photo, Lois Spatz
Since the movie’s release things have gotten even busier for the pair. They’ve helped rebuild five animal shelters in Ukraine and responded to wildfires in California, hurricanes in North Carolina, and floods in Asheville, where they delivered more than $50,000 in supplies for displaced pets. They deliver pet food and supplies to elderly people living in poverty – and pay for dogs’ medical bills for the disabled, veterans, and those on fixed incomes.
The dogs they rescue come from every possible desperate situation: puppy mill dogs, bait dogs used in dogfighting, and hundreds of dogs from shelters, often moments away from euthanasia. Remarkably, they continue to donate their time to the nonprofit without taking a salary and charge no adoption fee. “We just appreciate donations in an amount of the adopter’s choosing,” says Ron.
That all means needing to continue their full-time day jobs in the equestrian business where they are a regular and popular sight at the horse shows they attend with a stand that showcases the pups in need of adoption.
And yet, amid all this organized chaos, there is water. There is calm. There is the boat. A love of being on the water runs deep for both having grown up around boats in their respective Illinois and North Carolina.
“My dad always had a ski boat where I grew up,” Ron says, remembering summers on the Chain O’Lakes outside Chicago.
Danny was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, but spent summers in Rhode Island.
“I was born in Rhode Island, and the whole family is from there. My dad was a very good sailor, and as a child we’d spend summer at my grandmother’s beach house on Narragansett Bay,” he says.
Ron and Danny’s time on the lake aboard their pontoon offers an escape from busy lives as horse trainers and dog rescuers. Photo, Kim Tudor
There, the water called to him. “I think from when I was about 4 years old, I used to wake up and take the little square-nosed dinghy out on my own. I’d just row up and down by the boats in the bay, and all the boats would have names to me. I’d personify them all based on how they floated or looked. I’d have my favorites.”
Now having a boat provides a rare escape for the pair. From January to April, they relocate their horse operation to Lake Wellington, Florida, bringing literally busloads of adoptable dogs to their booth at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
After that they travel to horse shows at Bruce’s Field in Aiken, South Carolina, then to Blowing Rock Horse Show in North Carolina and back to Bruce’s Field for two weeks in September. The shows have become an effective and much-loved stable of their mobile rescue unit.
But as they shuttle between horse shows, rescue booths, and caring for their permanent dogs of about 12 mostly unadoptable pups (“our misfits,” says Ron) who travel everywhere with them, the 150-acre Lake Wellington has become a little oasis of calm.
“We had a pontoon boat for 23 years and just got a new one last winter,” Ron says. “It’s a Qwest, powered by an electric motor and lithium battery. Lake Wellington requires non-gasoline motors to protect the homes and the peace that surround it.”
“We always say we love living on the water and we’re lucky we’re here, but eventually we’d like to live on the ocean,” says Ron. At Lake Wellington, a particular favorite for both men and the dogs are late afternoon cruises. “We’ll take friends down to the food trucks at the end of the lake. The dogs love standing on the seats and letting the breeze blow in their faces. All you have to do is walk toward the boat and they run down the backyard and hop onboard.”
“As long as they’re sharing it with us, they like anything,” Danny adds.
Each year, their most cherished images are re-created for their annual rescue calendar with one of their favorites being a painting of them both on the boat, surrounded by the dogs.
Not that they ever really relax from the mission. Even their annual two-week getaway to Aruba includes rescue work and boats. “We’ll always rent a boat and go out, or sail a large Hobie Cat while we’re there,” say Danny.
“We help save dogs there, too,” adds Ron. “When we go to Aruba we don’t take dogs. But we do fly home with dogs.”